St. Anthony defeated by Roselle Catholic in state championship for second straight season

TOMS RIVER — St. Anthony suffered a familiar fate Saturday as the Friars dropped a 60-57 contest to Roselle Catholic in the Non-Public B state championship final at Pine Belt Arena.

The Friars (25-5), ranked No. 6 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, also lost to the Lions in last year’s final when Roselle Catholic handed St. Anthony its first playoff loss since 2010. The Lions eventually claimed top honors in the Tournament of Champions.

St. Anthony started the game on a sour note against Roselle Catholic (20-9), ranked No. 12 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, bringing back memories of last season’s matchup.

St. Anthony was led in the loss by junior Markis McDuffie, who had a team-high 21 points. Jagan Mosley notched 14 points as well as six rebounds and five assists for the Friars.

The Friars rebounded from an early 13-2 deficit to make it an 18-10 game after the first quarter.

“Basketball is a 32-minute game and we knew we’d take a couple shots on the chin, but the kids understood that and they knew they’d have a chance to respond,” said St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley. “I think we were a pile of nerves to start the game, but we adjusted well from the bad beginning.”

After taking the lead late in the third quarter thanks to a couple of free throws from Mosely, the Friars seemed to be in a great position to separate from the Lions with Matt Bullock and Chris Silva in foul trouble. But what appeared to be a favorable situation eventually led to St. Anthony’s defeat.

“You would think that getting a team into foul trouble would benefit your team, but in this one it kind of bit us in the rear end,” Hurley said.

“(Roselle Catholic) ended up playing more guys than they probably planned to and at the end of the game, the last two minutes, they were fresher than us.”

With 3:17 left in the game, junior guard Isaiah Briscoe gave the Lions their first lead since the third quarter — an advantage they sealed by sinking a handful of free throws in the game’s final minute.

Briscoe finished with a game-high 24 points and also registered eight rebounds and five assists.

Although St. Anthony point guard Tarin Smith admired his team’s ability to “play tough and persevere” in the third quarter to get back in the game, the senior admitted that the Friars were just a step behind as the Lions locked up the win late.

“We had turnovers that killed us, we missed some jump shots and there were too many possessions where we didn’t make a defensive stop,” said Smith, who scored eight points.